The Third Tiberium War is the third and most destructive global conflict between GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod. During this war, Earth came under attack for the first time by an extraterrestrial race, the Scrin.

Contents

Background

Contrary to popular belief, Kane was not killed in the end of the Second Tiberium War, but merely incapacitated by Michael McNeil, with his body later retrieved by CABAL cyborgs and placed in a stasis tube for regeneration. CABAL, lacking Kane's guidance, turned against humanity in what is known as the Firestorm Crisis. The AI core was destroyed by combined Nod and GDI forces, but his primary cluster remained untouched, where Kane was stored. CABAL attempted to merge with Kane's mind, but the Prophet resisted and defeated CABAL, reshaping him, giving birth to a completely new form of intelligence.

Reuniting a fractured brotherhood

Kane would continue to remain in stasis until 2034, when his body was reconstructed to the point it could live without relying on external support. CABAL's machines also managed to reconstruct Kane's facial disfigurement, a wound from the First Tiberium War when the Temple of Nod was incinerated by an Ion Cannon blast. The Nod leader emerged into a world where the Brotherhood was in shambles, scattered and leaderless. His chosen heir, Anton Slavik, was killed by a fanatical Black Hand follower, Marcion, and the latter went into self-imposed exile in Australia.

Seething with anger, Kane activated LEGION and ordered him to incite rebellion in Rio to rally Nod's followers. The ruse worked, as the disillusioned populace rose up against GDI forces and even the rogue Nod forces in the area were beaten into submission. With some basic support established, Kane dispatched LEGION and a sizeable Nod force overseas to Australia, where they secured Brotherhood archives seized by GDI, and brought a renegade Black Hand faction led by Marcion back into the fold.

Marcion's capture provided Kane with an important asset - a figurehead that would rally Nod's follower back under his banner, as well as the Black Hand's considerable arsenal and intelligence databanks, providing basis for further expansion of Nod's arsenal. At this point, LEGION was shutdown, in order for Nod researchers to upgrade and expand its processing capabilities.

From defense to ecology

The thirteen years that followed were bountiful for Nod, as they maintained a low profile in GDI's eyes all the while the latter grew weaker and weaker, overly dependent on their Orbital Defence Matrix. GDI analysts predicted years of peace, and GDI's leadership, ignoring the voices of a small but vocal minority, such as Jack Granger and Nick Parker, cut defense funding, shifting GDI's focus to the containment of Tiberium. By 2047 60% of GDI military bases worldwide were shut down in order to cut costs and enable greater focus on the effort to curb Tiberium infestation.

During the seventeen years of relative peace Tiberium was starting to take control of the planet, prompting GDI to redraw all the international borderlines based on Tiberium infection. 30% of the Earth's surface were designated as red zones, where Tiberium had virtually transformed the surface into an alien-like environment and cannot support human life. 50% of the planetary surface was partially contaminated by Tiberium but contained most of the world's population. These yellow zones suffered decades of war and civil unrest, leading to a state of social collapse and decaying infrastructure. The remaining 20% were designated as blue zones by GDI, with little Tiberium contamination and were considered the last refuge and hope of the civilised world. GDI's sonic technology was able to keep Tiberium in check in these zones thanks to the Tacitus, and even reclaimed Germany from its yellow zone status.

While individual nation states still existed, they were essentially of no importance, as GDI became a political and military super-state. With Nod's power seemingly diminishing, GDI leaders became complacent, phasing out many of the organization's older and more experimental forms of military equipment during the decade following the Second Tiberium War (including most walkers, disruptors, most hovering vehicles, and the Firestorm shields). GDI now considered Tiberium to be a higher priority than the Brotherhood. However, this temporary period of peace was soon revealed to be an illusion.

An invisible superpower

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Nod operated virtually unopposed in Yellow Zones, with propaganda and relief efforts constantly increasing popular support for the organization. Every month, thousands of desperate Yellow Zone residents join the Brotherhood. Unnoticed, they constantly enlarged their arsenal and researched new technologies, becoming an underground, invisible superpower dwarfing their past achievements.

The War

The Brotherhood Strikes Back

“

Go ahead my son, push the button. Inscribe your place in history with the blood of GDI- Kane, to the Legendary Insurgent moments before the start of the Third Tiberium War

”

In 2047, while most of GDI's leadership was attending an energy summit aboard the space station Philadelphia, InOps detected renewed activity from the Brotherhood, with a suicide bombing leading one GDI Commander of the Northeastern Blue Zone on a scouting mission in the North Carolina badlands. This turned out to be much more than a mere random attack, as GDI uncovered a large Nod base in the area. The commander was authorised to use an Ion Cannon to destroy the base, with Pentagon officials beginning to realise that Nod was planning something.

Kane has been planning the Third Tiberium War ever since he was staked by McNeil in his own pyramid in Cairo, but the plan to cripple GDI by destroying Philadelphia was the brainchild of General Kilian Qatar. Kane approved of that idea, and the preparations for the invasion of Blue Zones was underway. The first priority was disabling the ion cannon network, and for that, LEGION was reactivated and sent with an elite detachment to Johannesburg in South Africa, to acquire the orbital access codes and then to America, where it struck against the GDI Treasury, forcing Redmond Boyle, an incompetent politician, to remain planetside. Kane wanted him to lead GDI, as his incompetence and love for media attention was essential to Kane's plans.

At roughly the same time as the North Carolina battle was being fought, the Nod Commander assaulted Goddard Space Center, the command center of GDI's A-Sat defensive systems. With Fanatics, Militia, and elite Shadow Teams, the Commander quickly demolished the base, taking the Ion Cannon network and GDI's missile defenses offline. Kane was pleased in the Commander's masterful victory, and allowed him to launch a nuclear missile at the crux of GDI's leadership; the GDSS Philadelphia.

As stunned GDI officials in the Pentagon could only watch, the Philadelphia, holding GDI's most important civilian officials, was destroyed. Horrified newscasters, at a loss to explain the accident, were interrupted by Kane, revealing himself to the world yet again, and issuing a declaration that the Blue Zones would run red with GDI's blood. Right on cue, Nod forces worldwide launched assaults on every GDI controlled territory, meeting little to no resistance at first.

Initial Stages

During their assaults against the Blue Zones, Nod experienced tremendous successes. Reykjavik fell, and soon the only GDI base with Central Command capability was the Pentagon, in Blue Zone B-2. The Commander of the Goddard Raid was quickly sent to Washington, D.C., destroying Andrews Air Force Base, capturing Hampton Roads and the White House, and wiping out a GDI force holding out North of D.C. The Commander was recalled, and silently sent to Brazil, while GDI planned a counterattack.

The GDI's commander was first tasked with protecting the Pentagon, the last bastion of GDI military command. The GDI garrison in Washington was successful in securing the Pentagon, and then moved to push Nod out of the Washington Blue Zone. GDI managed to save Langley Air Force Base and recapture Hampton Roads, restoring GDI air power and cutting off additional Nod reinforcements. With the Nod forces crippled and confused, GDI quickly moved to retake the White House, successfully turning the battle back in favour of them.

Thanks to GDI's success in Washington, GDI forces around the world began to simultaneously push Nod out of the Blue Zones, giving them time to reorganize and lick their wounds. Treasurer Redmond Boyle, now the highest ranking GDI official, was now promoted to Director-General. He promised the public a swift and absolute victory over Nod, though GDI General Jack Granger was more sceptical.

Nod Operations in Brazil

Following the GDI route in Washington, Nod forces in South America braced for GDI retaliation. GDI attacked a suspicious Nod Lab in Brazil, leading Kane to send the Commander to defend it. The Commander quickly turned the tide and destroyed a nearby GDI base, allowing the scientists in the lab to complete components of a secret Tiberium weapon Kane was developing; a Liquid Tiberium Bomb. Kilian Qatar expressed doubt as to why Kane hid that part of the plan from her.

The Commander then secured transportation out of South America, and destroyed a group of GDI artillery sites keeping Nod from evacuating the Liquid Tiberium components to Sarajevo.

The Campaign for Egypt

“

This is payback for all those who died aboard the Philadelphia!- Kirce James, on the attack on the Cairo nuclear launching facility

”

Predator Tank, photographed near Cairo.

Acting on intelligence gained from Nod prisoners, Granger secretly sent a strike force to a Nod biochem plant in Casabad, in Nod-controlled Africa. The commander quickly met up with a squad of Zone Troopers investigating the plant, which was utterly destroyed by GDI. Intelligence gleaned from the rubble revealed the Liquid Tiberium project to GDI, and the Commander was quickly sent to destroy the port of Alexandria, in an attempt to stop the export of the bomb to Sarajevo. Though stopping the export of components for the Liquid Tiberium Bomb failed, the port was destroyed and the Commander remained in Egypt for one more mission; the destruction of the nuclear missile facility in Cairo, where the strike that destroyed the Philadelphia was launched. GDI secured a victory, and confiscated or destroyed almost all of Nod's nuclear arsenal.

The Liquid Tiberium Question

“

Commander, I want you to end this once and for all!- Director Boyle, ordering the Ion Cannon strike on Temple Prime

”

At around the same time, LEGION was ordered to capture Dr. Alphonse Giraud , GDI's leading Tiberium scientist, stationed up in Chile. At the same location GDI were testing their new experimental weapons, including a new Supersonic fighter. The entire facility was razed.

With the successful export of the Liquid Tiberium components, the Nod commander was recalled to Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, GDI gained intelligence that Nod had constructed a new Temple Prime atop the ruins of their old temple, destroyed in the First Tiberium War. Most of GDI's resources were sent to combat this, at the behest of Boyle and to the objection from Granger, who considered Temple Prime a waste of time and manpower.

This mobilization allowed GDI to intercept an Armageddon bomber carrying the Brazilian weapons components, which the Nod commander was quickly sent to retrieve. Despite heavy resistance (including Mammoth tanks), the Commander managed to secure the components with Avatar Warmechs and delivered them to Temple Prime, which was besieged by a GDI force. Despite Kilian Qatar's pleas for reinforcements to Ayers Rock, Kane redirected all of Nod's assets, including LEGION, to defend Temple Prime. While the Commander held GDI forces at bay, these reinforcements arrived with LEGION, and quickly eradicated the GDI presence in the area. However, Temple Prime's defenders were stunned when the 'reinforcements' demanded that Kane stand down. It was LEGION, who, under the command of Abbess Alexa Kovacs, was assaulting Temple Prime in the guise of General Qatar. The Commander was quickly ordered to save the base from attack, and defeated the renegade Nod troops. In fact all this was a perfectly planned diversion. While the Nod Commander was fighting the renegade Nod troops, a commando and a saboteur snuck in and secured the plans for Temple Prime's Ion Shield. After that, Kane, still not understanding what really happened, quickly sent the Commander to Australia, to salvage what he could from Kilian's forces. LEGION's orders also included leaking Nod's plans for Temple Prime's Ion Shield to GDI High Command and to add insult to Qatar.

Satellite view of the Ion Cannon blast that caused the Liquid Tiberium Explosion.

After establishing a foothold in Eastern Europe and destroying a large portion of Nod's vehicles in Albania, the GDI Commander had reached Temple Prime several days after the battle with the renegades. Though the temple had been greatly reinforced by this time, GDI troops slowly managed to topple the massive walls of Temple Prime, destroying special Ion disruption towers that were built to defend the base from space attack.

With GDI's A-SAT system back online, Director Boyle ordered Temple Prime to be wiped out in the same fashion it was in the First Tiberium War, via an Ion Cannon strike. General Granger argued against this, reminding Boyle that Liquid Tiberium was being kept in Temple Prime. Boyle overruled him, and the Ion Cannon was fired on the temple. However, as Granger had feared, the Liquid Tiberium Bomb detonated spectacularly, showering most of Eastern Europe with deadly fallout. Despite millions of GDI, Nod, and civilian deaths, Director Boyle quickly reassured the public that Kane's reign of terror has ended.

The Scrin

“

"And we thought we were the only ones in the universe! Oh, the hubris!- GDI Soldier

”

Arrival

Scrin Shock Troopers.

After Temple Prime's destruction, GDI deep-space satellites picked up motion on the edge of the solar system. This turned out to be a fleet of extraterrestrial space vessels, headed for Earth at "near-relativistic" speeds. Director Boyle ordered an Ion Cannon strike with the entire network of cannons, however, the alien vessels merely dispersed into multiple smaller craft, landing in Red Zones across the world.

Meanwhile, Alexa Kovacs was grieving about the destruction of Temple Prime. She became however angry when she learned that Kilian Qatar, as Kane's second in command, had taken control over the remains of the Brotherhood. Then, Kane appeared to Alexa, informing her about the Aliens that were arriving to Earth and revealing some parts of his plan to her. She then ordered LEGION to deal with one cult of these Aliens, the Traveler-59 .

LEGION dealt with the local Traveler, who arrived and began mind control the Nod supporting population in the Africa Red Zone. When LEGION started to destroy their Drone Ships, they brought in an Eradicator Hexapod as reinforcements. LEGION countered it by deploying a Redeemer. With the Eradicator and the Drone Ships destroyed, LEGION freed the population from mind control.

In the meantime, the GDI commander held a defense at Germany and managed to push back the Scrin mining force in the region all the way to Berne where they had a last stand. Against all odds, he managed to destroy the Scrin base(s) and reclaim Berne (or what was left of it). It was rumored that he also destroyed an Alien Mothership at Bern.

Nod's Last Stand

Although Kilian Qatar had been suspected of instigating the rebellion at Temple Prime, she became the de facto leader of Nod following the destruction of Temple Prime, Kane apparently having died. Despite misgivings, she recalled all Nod personnel to Australia, an act which Ajay called "our last stand". Determined to retake Earth one continent at a time, she sent the Commander and an elite detachment of Nod forces to hijack GDI's nuclear weapons, in transit from a base in the Outback to Sydney. Despite handily accomplishing his goal, the Commander could not rest, for as soon as the weapons were hijacked, the Scrin made planetfall in Australia. Despite heavy opposition by this strange new enemy, the weapons were secured.

Kilian Qatar had quickly joined forces with the commander of GDI's A-NZ forces against the invaders, agreeing to help them defend Sydney. This was met with anger by Ajay. Qatar revealed that she also planned to have the Commander steal the launch codes for the nuclear warheads Nod had stolen. The Commander did so, and sufficiently weakened the aliens to allow GDI to strike back. However, in the ensuing evacuation of Sydney, Nod forces covering the GDI retreat received messages from Kane. The eradication of GDI was ordered, and the Nod Commander used the nuclear weapons he had obtained to wipe out Sydney.

Afterwards, Kane, viewing the cooperation with GDI as treachery, quickly ordered Qatar's capture, and the Commander, granted access to only a single Avatar and a team of Saboteurs, successfully established a foothold south of Ayers Rock. Destroying Qatar's headquarters convinced her followers to repent; and the reunified Nod quickly destroyed a GDI force sent in retaliation for Sydney.

In the meantime, LEGION was ordered to recapture the Tacitus, now in GDI hands. Facing off against GDI and a large scrin force in China, he managed to acquire the Tacitus. However, when he was ready to interface with it, Alexa's own self doubt overtook her. She inserted a virus into LEGION's core, which would shut him down in seconds. She confessed to Kane that she ordered LEGION to attack Temple Prime under the guise of general Qatar because she believed that Qatar would have betrayed Kane in time. Angered for executing his best tactician, Kane ordered the questioning of Alexa. However, she committed suicide just before LEGION shut down.

The Italian Job

GDI intelligence confirmed that unbelievably, alien attacks on major cities were merely a diversion, while the aliens' true work, the construction of giant Thresholds had gone unnoticed.

A mammoth tank.

At the same time, Kane had Kilian executed, and revealed that he had intended for Temple Prime to be destroyed by an Ion Cannon. The resulting Liquid Tiberium explosion would draw the invaders to Earth, and the towers they were building were Kane's true objective.

Both GDI and Nod forces congregated in the Red Zones. Nod revealed that it had a special weapon to use against the Scrin; an altered Catalyst Missile, severely damaging to the invaders. Nod then captured a Nerve Center, gaining the codes necessary to enter the Scrin Thresholds. Then, in a well-coordinated strike with a minimum amount of forces, the Nod Commander used vastly larger GDI and Scrin armies against each other, eradicating a significant presence on what used to be the banks of the Tiber River.

However, the opportunity to seize a tower was beginning to run out for Nod, as the GDI Commander successfully destroyed one, rallying GDI forces throughout the Red Zones. As the towers fell, Nod's Commander was sent to what used to be Mediterranean Coast. He successfully managed to stop GDI's attempts to destroy the last tower, while the Scrin hastily completed it.

Meanwhile, at Ground Zero, The GDI Commander was sent on his most important mission; the destruction of the Scrin Relay Node, a structure that provided Alien forces worldwide with vitally needed radiation. Director Boyle, in hiding in Reykjavik, authorised the Commander to use a Liquid Tiberium weapon, built from confiscated Nod parts, to destroy the node, however, Granger disapproved, as it would both eradicate most of Europe and set a dangerous precedent. The Commander accomplished his mission. Alien units worldwide literally began to fall apart upon the destruction of the Relay Node.

The Alien Agenda?

Following the destruction of the relay node, Futuretech Labs scientists began sifting through the remnants of the aliens, in order to understand what exactly was being planned. During the investigation, the scientists began to piece together the seeming mission of the Scrin forces. While this is primarily speculation, many scientists concur.

The invasion was apparently being led by Foremen, roughly equivalent to human military commanders. These Foremen were caught off guard by Boyle's Ion Cannon strike, and were unprepared for hostile resistance. Upon landing, the Foremen were ordered by a Supervisor to set about lashing out at civilian targets, such as London. This was to divert human forces away from the construction of the Threshold towers. The intensity of these attacks increased as the Scrin were met by human resistance that they were unprepared to face. The destruction of New Eden seems to be a result of this.

Scientists speculate that along with diversionary tactics, a Foreman was also tasked with investigating the Liquid Tiberium Explosion. For instance, after Temple Prime's destruction, an alien army pillaged what remained of Croatia, apparently scouring the remaining Nod forces in Eastern Europe for information about the deliberate detonation.

Finally, with GDI and Nod forces pushing deep into the Red Zones, the Scrin Foremen were in mortal danger. Apparently needing regular Tiberium infusions to stay alive, the Foreman abandoned his investigation regarding the Tiberium explosion to protect the last tower. Holding off a GDI assault, the Foreman's mothership was seen departing the only completed tower shortly before Nod forces seized it.

The Aftermath

With the Scrin attack halted and Kane having disappeared yet again, a lull settles over the world. However, following past events GDI InOps are wary to pronounce Kane dead. Kane's last movements were linked with the last remaining Scrin tower in Italy, which remained standing, impervious to human attack. The Scrin, too, should perhaps not be presumed utterly defeated, as the Foreman (Scrin Commander) managed to facilitate a retreat before one of the Scrin Thresholds were destroyed. Recent work by GDI operatives has revealed that the Scrin's devastating attack on Earth may not have even been an invasion attempt, but rather a mistaken effort to 'harvest' a deserted planet. If this is true, mankind may not have seen the last of the Aliens. GDI leaders can only assure the public that Earth will not fall in the face of an alien onslaught.

The war left Nod a shadow of its former self as the Brotherhood prominent leaders were killed. Nod was all but destroyed by GDI after the Battle for Ground Zero and had retreated underground

Resurrection

By the year 2052, Nod has retreated underground. Kane and the surviving members of the Brotherhood, armed with the knowledge of the Scrin, secretly plot the next phase of their plan, but they are missing one crucial element: the Tacitus. By then, GDI's experiments on the Tacitus have rendered the device unstable, making it too dangerous for them to further decrypt and test on. Time was thus running out for Kane to take back the Tacitus and stabilise it

LEGION was "resurrected" in 2052. Led by him, the Marked of Kane cyborg army was activated in Operation Will Made Flesh. Nod forces including the Black Hand and the Marked of Kane conducted a joint operation against the GDI Tacitus Containment Facility in the Rocky Mountains Complex, to retrieve the Tacitus before GDI destroys it. The Tacitus was regained, and Kane linked the alien device up with LEGION. The artificial intelligence then received a cryptic message, apparently originating from the Scrin, which states that an invasion of Earth was imminent.

Major Battles

Note: Missions from the game Tiberium Wars listed in rough chronological order. Missions marked (KW) are from the expansion Kane's Wrath.

ACT I

Nod attacks GDI Blue Zones. The North Eastern Blue Zone on the eastern seaboard of North America was a primary target. Despite initial success, Nod was forced to retreat in the face of a GDI counter-offensive.

Siege of Temple Prime: A huge siege on Temple Prime with a lot of phases including the defeat of the first GDI strikeforce, the Nod rebellion and the final attack.

ACT IV

Drawn by the Liquid Tiberium explosion, Scrin forces landed on Earth, beginning the Invasion of Earth. GDI managed to liberate its Blue Zones from the Scrin, with some of the most brutal fighting taking place in Germany and Europe. Meanwhile, Kilian Qatar forged a brief alliance with GDI in order to save Australia from the Scrin invasion during one of Nod's missions. The fallout between Kilian Qatar and Kane culminated in the former's capture and execution in the Battle of Ayers Rock.

Battle of Sydney: Two-missions battle. GDI and Nod fight together against the aliens, trying to prevent them from entering Sydney. When this fails, both sides aid each other to evacuate the city before Kane resurfaces and orders a nuclear attack on the GDI base.

Battle for Kane's Tower: The battle to stop a formidable GDI army from destroying the Phase Generators protecting Threshold 19. This is where Foreman 371 and the Nod Commander dueled with GDI on separate sides.

Battle for Kane's Tower: The battle to stop a formidable GDI army from destroying the Phase Generators. This is where Foreman 371 and the Nod Commander dueled with GDI on separate sides.

GDI

Battle of Rome: Destruction to one of the Scrin's Threshold Towers by a famed GDI Commander . Many of Nod's prominent members were killed.

Battle for Ground Zero: The final battle where a GDI assault team became heroes of the GDI and the World by terminating the Relay Node - and bringing the Scrin harvesting force crashing to the ground. Nod's proudest and even deserters were all decimated.

Post TWIII Interbellum

After the end of the Third Tiberium War, Nod retreated underground to plot the next stage of their Ascension. Three years later, they struck.